A Modi- media- money-fuelled spectre is haunting Tripura’s Communists — the spectre of defeat. All the powers of the state have entered into an unholy (according to Manik Sarkar) alliance to realise this spectre: Congress deserters, disgruntled Communist cadres, many of the state’s youth, and tribal outfits like the Indigenous Peoples’ Front of Tripura (IPFT).

The election campaign reflects the parties and their intrinsic styles. BJP, whose candidates lost their deposits in all but one of the 60 seats in the last assembly elections in 2013, is posing a formidable challenge to the Communist Party (Marxist)-Left Front government which has been in power since 1978 (except for one term between 1988 and 1993). In the bye-elections held since 2013, the CPM won all the four seats but BJP too emerged on the political landscape of the state by dislodging the Congress and coming second.

The current campaign of the BJP is about big full-page ads in the local dailies, chartered flights carrying central ministers, big cars (almost every SUV in the state bears a BJP flag, roadshows with dozens of bikes and cars, and rallies organised with the help of ministers and MLAs from neighbouring and influential Assam. The CPM on the other hand, devoid of the massive money power of the BJP, is relying on its network of cadres who exist in the every mohalla and village of the state. For the last 40 years, it is the red flag that has flown across the hills and plains, towns and villages of Tripura. This time however, the BJP is matching the CPM’s small bamboo flags (usually fixed in the ground along roads). For every red hammer and sickle flag, a fluttering saffron lotus can be easily seen.

For the locals though, it’s nothing extraordinary. Earlier, it was the Congress flags that matched the CPM. After speaking to local journalists and others it appears that those who were earlier in the Congress are now campaigning for the BJP. It does make sense, after all BJP got a major boost to their prospects in the state only when six Congress MLAs deserted their party and joined the BJP after a pit stop with the Trinamool Congress. "Their party is made up of turncoats who were seduced by Hemanta Biswas Sarma, the master of turncoats in the north-east," says Congress’ Vice-President Tapan Dey. Sarma is well-known for his role in bringing BJP to power in Assam after his fallout with Congress. Dey’s bitterness, though understandable, offers no solace to the electoral prospects of the besieged grand old party; it stands reduced to playing third fiddle in the state that it once ruled.

More than anything, the slogan 'Chalo Paltai' or ‘Let’s Change’ stands for the aspirations of the people of a state long used to the staid stability denoted by CPM rule. Most youth are unable to answer what they want but repeat the slogans that are now losing their currency in the rest of India. “Ab ki baar Modi Sarkar, bahut hua atyachar” is one such slogan. When asked why they want the BJP, all that they point to are the allegations of ‘Left terror’ and atrocities. The election machinery of the BJP has succeeded in creating a buy-in for itself by welcoming into its fold the disgruntled sections of the state. “Everything is fine here”, is heard from most people, and yet, support for BJP is easily visible, and its supporters are actively campaigning.

Like a successful marketing campaign, which creates desire for something people don’t need, the BJP is doing well for itself by spreading the call of ‘Chalo Paltai’ through WhatsApp, newspapers, on-ground campaigning and electronic media. Except the CPM mouthpiece Desher Katha (Nation’s Voice), local dailies are promoting the BJP in no uncertain terms. Perhaps they too are swayed by the prospect of change and something new, the allure of experimenting with the saffron party is outshining the reliability of the known and predictable. BJP has carpet-bombed the state with the message of change, its supporters are even creating videos in which Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli is shown talking about “Chalo Paltai”.

The attention being lavished on the state’s nearly 2.6 million voters by the BJP is hard to ignore. The latest announcement by the party that if it is voted to power it will implement the 7th Central Pay Commission in the state has provided further boost to “Chalo Paltai”. The state has nearly 1.5 lakh government employees and they could well decide who forms the next government in the state. It was because of a similar promise in the 1988 elections that the Congress was able to come to power. “There is nothing wrong in giving them a shot, if they don’t perform we will throw them out," says Debu, a daily-wage labourer.

Despite the massive upsurge in favour of the BJP, the electoral arithmetic remains in favour of the CPM, which might still retain its last bastion, though with a much narrower margin of victory.

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